For the 2023-2024 school year, Frenship launched the Orchestra, under the direction of renowned music educator and performer, Darcy Radcliffe.
The Orchestra Program encompasses a variety of bowed stringed instruments. Orchestra forms an integral part of school life and is recognized as a fully curricular academic enrichment course.
Only three months into the inaugural year, three students from Frenship ISD auditioned and all three were accepted into the All-Region orchestra. The audition was held for students all over the Lubbock area, with around 300 musicians vying for a spot on the orchestra. These students made school history as they are Frenship's first string students to make this prestigious group.
For the audition, the students were given several challenging excerpts to learn over the course of several weeks. They then attended a blind audition where they performed the selected excerpts for a panel of five judges. The scores are then compiled, and students are ranked in order.
James Nuñez ranked 2nd overall in string bass, Isaiah DeLeon ranked 4th overall in string bass, and Abigail Duncan ranked 51st overall in violin.
“It is especially remarkable that these three students were accepted into this exceptional All-Region Orchestra considering their instruction time has been so short,” said Darcy Radcliff, Frenship ISD Orchestra Director. “This speaks to these students’ dedication, discipline and talent. They are to be highly commended for this achievement.”
Being selected for the All-Region Orchestra shows that a student is highly skilled at their instrument and has a strong sense of musicality. Students that make it into the orchestra have the opportunity to perform with other talented student musicians and to work with dynamic clinicians from other parts of the country.
Radcliff stated that one of her goals for the new program is to enrich the lives of the students.
“Through a fundamental-based approach I hope students grow in the areas of respect for themselves and one-another, become tenacious in their pursuit of excellence, are eager collaborators, and are skilled and brave enough to be expressive musically.”
Some of the ways she achieves this is by providing performance opportunities for the orchestra students, collaborating with other organizations on and off the Frenship campuses, working on out-of-the-box projects and taking what they are learning in the classroom to the world.
Next month the Frenship orchestras will be attending a Lubbock Symphony Orchestra concert together. This is an opportunity for the students to watch professional musicians play together in a masterful production.
The Frenship ISD Orchestras will be holding their first concert on Monday, December 11 in the Frenship Performing Arts Center. Students will also participate in Solo and Ensemble competitions in February along with spring concerts in April.